PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service is on Monday. Before that, however, the Mayor's Office of Civic Engagement and Volunteer Service has put out the call for nominations for this year's Mayor's Day of Service Recognition awards.
This is the 10th year Philadelphia is awarding unsung heroes that make an impact in their communities through volunteer and national service. The idea grew from National Service Recognition Day, a nationwide celebration of the contributions of members of AmeriCorps in the communities they serve.
Philadelphia Chief Service Officer Amanda Gamble said anyone who selflessly serves others is eligible.
"Even just sweeping your neighbor's stoop," she said. "It can be volunteering at your place of worship. A lot of people don't think about that as volunteering if it's something they just do in their everyday life."
Gamble said the pandemic really opened up the doors for people to engage in service.
"There are so many people that are volunteering to distribute food, or supporting their vaccine sites or test sites, so we really want to make sure that those people are highlighted," she explained.
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According to Gamble, a panel of city partners will review the nominations, which will be redacted for impartiality.
"The folks who score highly on their rubric for nominations then move over to the mayor," she detailed. "The mayor picks the top three nominees, and those are the folks that we highlight."
The categories this year are the mayor's Philly Hero Award, Youth Hero Award, Distinguished National Service Award and the Distinguished National Service Alumni Award.
The top three winners of each category will be honored by Mayor Jim Kenney during a virtual awards ceremony on April 5. Submissions are being accepted through the end of January.
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